Covering for a connecting member

ABSTRACT

A machine for applying a covering member on a connecting member simultaneously feeds a strip of connecting members to a connecter crimping station and a strip of covering members to a covering closing station. A connecter member at the connecter crimping station is crimped to a wire sheared from the strip of connecter members and transferred into an open covering member which has been sheared from the strip of covering members. As the crimped connecter is being positioned into the covering member, the covering member is being moved to its closed position and after the connecter member has been positioned in the covering member, the covering member is moved to its fully closed position thereby providing a covered connecter member.

[ Feb. 15, 1972 3,030,694 4/1962 Kerstetteretal................

[54] COVERING FOR A CONNECTING MEMBER Primary Examiner-Andrew R. J uhaszAssistant Examiner-F. R. Bilinsky [72 Inventor: Willard Le Roy Busler,Harrisburg, Pa.

[73] Assignee. AMP Incorporated, Harrisburg, Pa. Attorney-Curtis, Morrisand Safford, Marshall M. Holcombe, William Hintze, William J. Keating.Frederick W. Raring.

[ Flledi 4, 1963 John R. Hopkins, Adrian .1. La Rue and .lay L. Seitchik[21] Appl. No.: 781,154

[57] ABS l RACT A machine for applying a covering member on a connectingRelated US. Application Data [62] Division of Ser. No. 645,310, June 12,1967, Pat.

NO. member simultaneously feeds a strip of connecting members 3,431,548,which is a division of 347,907 to a connecter crimping station and astrip of covering members to a covering closing station. A connectermember at the connecter crimping station is crimped to a wire shearedfrom the strip of connecter members and transferred into an opencovering member which has been sheared from the strip of coveringmembers. As the crimped connecter is being positioned into the coveringmember, the covering member is being moved to its closed position andafter the connecter member has been positioned in the covering member,the covering member is moved to its fully closed position therebyproviding a covered connecter member.

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UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,845,108 7/1958 Mammell et al.................29/203 D X 4 Claims, 24 Drawing Figures PATENTEDFEB 15I972 SHEET 2 OF 2 IN VENTOR. Wmuawo LE 20v Buswa B Y COVERING FOR ACONNECTING MEMBER CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS Thisapplication is a division of application Ser. No. 645,310, filed June12, 1967, now U.S. Pat. No. 3,431,548 which is in turn a division ofapplication Ser. No. 347,907, filed Feb. 27, 1964, now U.S. Pat. No.3,332,053.

This invention relates to coverings to encase connecter members.Connecting strips on which the coverings are contained for forming acontinuous line of coverings and for feeding the coverings to anencapsulating station provided by a machine for simultaneouslyfeedingconnecter members to an operating station and the encapsulatingstation and for transferring the connecter members from the operatingstation to the encapsulating station at which the connecting members areencapsulated within the coverings, as described in the above-mentionedpatent applications.

It is known to provide connecting members with coverings as by a manualoperation, molding the coverings onto the connecting members, placingthe coverings onto the connecting members and then thermally fixing themthereon, or crimping the coverings onto the connecting members. Themanual, molding and thermal application of the coverings onto theconnecting members are time consuming. The manual application is alsoawkward and generally precludes exact positioning of the coverings ontothe connecting members. Once the coverings have been applied to theconnecting members by molding, thermal, and crimping techniques, thecoverings are not removable for inspection of the connecting members;and once they are removed, they are not reusable. Thermally appliedcoverings also generally contain flash projections which impede the useof the connecting members therein.

It is, therefore,-an object of the present invention to overcome thedisadvantages of previous apparatus for and methods of applyingcoverings to connecting members.

It is, therefore, another object of the present invention to providecoverings for connecting members that completely encases connectingmembers, are capable of being opened for purposes of inspection and arereusable.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a strip on whichthe coverings are carried and which provides interconnection betweenadjacent strips as well as feeding, guiding, and locking features.

An additional object of the present invention is to provide a machine toautomatically apply the coverings to the connecting members at a rapidspeed.

Others objects and attainments of the present invention will becomeapparent to those skilled in the art upon a reading of the followingdetailed description when taken in conjunction with the drawings inwhich there is shown and described an illustrative embodiment of theinvention; it is to be understood, however, that this embodiment is notintended to be exhaustive nor limiting of the invention but is given forpurposes of illustration in order that others skilled in the art mayfully understand the invention and the principles thereof and the mannerof applying it in practical use so that they may modify it in variousforms, each as may be best suited to the conditions of a particular use.

In the drawings:

FIG. I is a perspective view of a covering in the open position;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a side elevational view of the covering in a closed positionon a connecting member;

FIG. 3a is a front elevational view of FIG. 3;

FIGS. 4, 5, and 6 are views taken respectively along lines 4-4, 5-5, and6-6 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of some of the coverings on carrier feedstrips;

FIG. 8 is a view taken along lines 8-8 of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is an exploded cross-sectional view of the fastening featurebetween the carrier strips;

FIG. 10 is a view taken along lines 1010 of FIG. 8;

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the machine;

FIG. 12 is a front elevational view of the transfer, closing, andshearing mechanism;

FIGS. l3, l4, and 15 are fragmentary views of different operatingpositions of the mechanism of FIG. 12;

FIG. 16 is a fragmentary perspective view showingthe transfer assembly;

FIG. 17 is a' fragmentary perspective view showing the kicker assembly;

FIG. 18 is a fragmentary perspective view showing 'the covering shearingassembly;

FIG. 19 is a fragmentary perspective view showing the covering closingassembly;

FIG. 20 is a plan view of the transmission system and feed operatingmechanism;

FIG. 21 is a view taken along lines 21--21 of FIG. 20;

FIG. 22 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view of the covering feedassembly; and

FIG. 23 is an alternative embodiment of the transfer assembly.

The present invention will be discussed in relation to coverings takingthe form of insulating pods to be applied to connecting members in theform of flag-type electrical connectors as set forth in U.S. Pat. No.3,123,431.

Turning now to the drawings and in particular FIGS. 1-6, there isillustrated an insulating pod P preferably molded from plastic materialsuch as, nylon, polypropylene, etc. Pod'P includes two sections 1 and 2interconnected by hinge sections 3. Section 1 is a base section andcomprises three wall sections 4, 5, and 6 extending outwardly from afloor section 7. Wall sections 4 and 6 include outwardly projectingsections 8 and 9 respectively. Sections 8 and 9 have an inclined surface10 at the top front thereof. Wall 4 has a generally hemisphericaldepression 11 in the top thereof which extends across section Walls 4and 6 have two sections, rear sections which have the same height aswall 5 and other sections forward thereof which have less height. Eachof these sections include an inclined surface 12 which has the sameinclination as inclined surface 10. The top parts of the forwardsections of walls 4 and 6 each include a projection 13. Downwardly fromprojections 13 on the outer surface of walls 4 and 6 are lockingprojections 14 which include inclined surfaces 15. The inner surface ofwall 4 includes a projective surface 4' which extends from the front endto a point about midway between projection 13 and inclined surface 10.

At the forward end of floor 7 there is a projection 16 which extendsslightly above the floor. Spaced ribs 17, 18, and 19 extend upwardlyfrom floor 7 and are connected to rear wall 5. Ribs l7 and 18 have thesame height while the height of rib 19 is slightly lower; Ribs l8 and 19have upwardly projecting stops l8 and 19, respectively. Between rearwall 5 and hinges 3, there is a projection 20 which contains ahemispherical groove 21 in the upper surface.

Section 2 is a top section which includes a generally hollowhemispherical section 22 which merges into a fiat section 23. Sidewalls24 and 25 extend outwardly from the sidesof section 2 and each includesan opening 26 in the outer portion thereof which are adapted to engagelocking projections 14. Wall 24 has a generally hemispherical depression27 which, when the top section is locked in position on thebase'section, forms a circular opening as shown in FIG. 3.

As can be discerned, the inner periphery of section 2 has aconfiguration which mates with the tops of walls 4, 5, and 6 andprojections 13 are disposed within depressions 28 in the bottom surfaceof flat section 23 adjacent openings 26 when the top section is in aclosed position on the base section. Also, the uppermost configurationof walls 24 and 25 corresponds with the bottom of sidewalls 4 and 6, theinclination of inclined surfaces 10 and the top surface of sections 8and 9 when the pod is in the closed position, as shown in FIG. 3. Ofcourse, the inside width between walls 24 and 25 is slightly larger thanthe outside width between walls 4 and 6 so that walls 24 and 25 can bepositioned over walls 4 and 6.

The inner surface of flat section 23 comprises thin flexible ribs 29which are spaced inwardly from depressions 28. Similar flexible ribs 30are disposed within the inner surface of section 22. At the outer end offlat section 23 is an inwardly directed portion 31 which contains acentrally located projection 31'. Between hinges 3 and section 22, thereis a projection 32 having a groove 33 in its upper surface which, asshown in FIG. 3, forms, with groove 21 a circle when the pod is in aclosed position.

The electrical connector to be housed in pod P is shown in FIG. and isdesignated as E. The electrical connector comprises a ferrule portion33, a contact portion 34 and struts 35 and 36 interconnecting theferrule and contact portions. Ferrule portion 33 is normal to thelongitudinal axis of the electrical connector and is preferably crimpedonto the wire and insulation of conductor means 37. The contact portionhas a base or web 38 which has an arcuate cross-sectional configurationas shown in FIG. 6. The contact portion also includes sides 39 whichextend parallel to the plane passing through the axis of the connector.Edges 40 of sides 39 are bent inwardly and back toward the inner surfaceof base 38. As can be discerned, strut 36 has a curved orientation andthe reason for this is fully explained in the above-mentioned patent.

In assembly, electrical connector E is placed within section I of pod Pas shown in FIG. 5. Ferrule portion 33 rests on ribs 17, 18, and 19 asshown in FIGS. 4 and 5. Stops l8 and 19' prevent the connecter frommoving forwardly in section 1. The inner surface of wall 6 limits theside movement of the side of strut 35 and side 39 of the contact portionin alignment therewith whereas the inner surface of wall 4 in the areaof rib 19 and projecting surface 4' limit the side movement of strut 36and side 39 of the contact portion in alignment therewith. Sides 39 reston floor 7. Of course, the outside width of the connector is slightlyless than that of the inner width of walls 4 and 6 to allow theconnector to be readily inserted within section 1. Conductor means 37rests in hemispherical depression 11.

After the connector has been inserted in section 1, section 2 is thenmoved into engagement with section 1 so that openings 26 engage lockingprojections 14 to lock the pod on the connector. Inclined surfacesfacilitate the movement of sides 24 and 25 into their locked position.

After section 2 has been locked onto section 1 as shown in FIG. 3, ribs29 and 30, respectively, engage the contact portion and the ferruleportion as shown in FIGS. 6 and 4 to maintain constant pressure thereonso that the connector is stabilized within the pod and the sections ofthe pod are maintained in a positive locking condition. Hemisphericaldepression 27 surrounds the top part of conductor means 37.

FIG. 3a shows the open front end of the pod ready to receive a tabconnector element (not shown). Projections 16 and 31 serve to guide thetab element into the contact portion.

As can be discerned, pod P may be manually applied to a connectorelement to completely encapsulate it. Pod P may also be removed from theconnector element in order to inspect, clean or replace the element.

FIGS. 7-10 illustrate carrier strips 41 to carry insulating pods Pthereon as well as to form a spool thereof for use on the machine,disclosed in the above-mentioned patent applications. Each carrier stripand the pods thereon are preferably molded as an integral unit, the podsbeing connected to the carrier strip by a piece 42. One end of carrierstrip 41 comprises a snap member 43 while the other end includes areceptacle 44.

The end piece of the carrier strip on which snap member 43 is located isnot as thick nor as wide as the carrier strip but the bottom surfacethereof is even with the remainder of the strip as shown in FIGS. 8-10.Snap member 43 extends outwardly from the endpiece and has a hole 45extending therethrough. Toward the outer end of the snap member, thereis an annular collar 46 spaced from the top flat surface of theendpiece. Collar 45 has an inclined surface 47.

The endpiece of the carrier strip in which receptacle 44 is locatedcomprises a channel 48 having a depth, width, and length correspondingto that of the endpiece carrying the snap member. Receptacle 44constitutes a hole having a diameter slightly larger than the diameterof the snap member between flange 46 and the top surface of theendpiece. Also, the thickness of the endpiece in which receptacle 44 islocated has a thickness which is about the same as the distance betweenflange 46 and the top surface of the endpiece.

Both snap member 43 and receptacle 44 are centrally located in theirrespective end pieces so that the end of one carrier strip containingthe snap member can be pushed through the receptacle in the end ofanother carrier strip to interlock the two carrier strips as indicated.This is repeated until a desirable length of carrier strips and theirrespective pods may be mounted on a suitable carrier means, such as theabove-mentioned spool. Inclined surface 47 facilitates the entry of snapmember 43 into receptacle 44.

Each carrier strip also includes evenly spaced elongated slots 49 andholes 50 therebetween. Holes 44 and 45 are included in the dispositionof holes 50.

The slots 49 are engaged by feed fingers of the pod-applying machine tofeed the pods into position for receiving terminated connectors so as tobe closed thereon and a pin extends within one of holes 50in the carrierstrip to maintain the strip in alignment and to prevent the strip frommoving rearwardly during the return movement of the pod feed mechanismin addition to engaging snap member 43 when receptacle 44 is in positionunder this pin thereby disconnecting the leading carrier strip, whichhas all its pods sheared therefrom, from the trailing carrier strip.This operation is disclosed hereinbelow.

FIG. 11 illustrates the overall machine M which utilizes an actuatingmeans for the movable crimping die CD, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat.No. 3,046,636. A bracket 51 extends outwardly from the machine on whichspools S and S are rotatably mounted on spindle 52. Spool S carries thepods while spool S carries the electrical connectors and these are ledaround a guide plate 53 to their respective crimping and pod closingzones.

The machine also includes a transmission system TS and a transferring,closing, and shearing system TC. Below the movable crimping die is astationary crimping die SC onto which connectors E are successively fedto be crimped onto conductor means 37. A spring-biased holding member 54is mounted on movable crimping die CD in order to engage the contactportion of the connector to hold it in position during the crimpingoperation and beginning of the transferring operation. A shearing member(not shown) is mounted on the actuating means for movable crimping dieCD which shears each electrical connector from the line of electricalconnectors during the crimping operation. System TC comprises a numberof cams, levers, links and pivot points mounted in a housing 55 with awall 56 separating some of these elements. Thus, each cam and itsassociated components will be described individually. All of the camsare fixedly mounted on a common shaft 57 which is rotatably mounted inwall 56.

Turning now to FIGS. 12 and 16, there is illustrated the transferassembly. The outermost cam 58 is the transfer cam. A lever arm 59includes one section 60 pivotally connected at one end to a pivot pin 61located in wall 56. A roller 62 is mounted on lever arm 59 andconstantly bears against the cam surface of cam 58 through the action ofa spring 63 whose one end is connected to arm 59 while the other end isconnected to a pin 64 located on a covering plate (not shown).

As can be discerned, section 60 has an offset 65 which will be discussedlater. Another section 66 of arm 59 is connected to offset 65 by screwmeans 67 which permits adjustment of the length of arm 59. Section 66includes a U-shaped portion 68 having a pin 69 therethrough. Aconnecting link 70 has one end pivotally connected to pin 69 while theother end is pivotally connected to pin 71. An L-shaped arm 72 has oneend pivotally connected to pin 71, while the other end has an engagingmember 73 connected thereto.

' Cam followers 79 and 80 are,

Arm 72 is movably disposed between two spaced plates 74 (only the frontplate being shown) which defines a channel therebetween. A projection 75is located on arm 72, and members 76 (only one being shown) are securedon each side of projection 75. Members 76 are preferably plastic, suchas, nylon or the like and they engage the inner surface of plates 74.

Front plate 74 includes cam surfaces 77 and 78 therein. respectively,located on arm 72 and pin 71. Cam follower 79 rides in cam surface 77while cam follower 80 rides in cam surface 78. Cam surfaces 77 and 78define a line of transfer from the crimping station to the pod closingstation to be described later. Members 76 act as a drag in order toallow cam follower 79 to engage the proper parts of cam surface 77during its movement therein.

. Engaging member 73 includes two prongs 73' which engage a erimpedconnector at the crimping station and member 73 transfers the crimpedconnector to an open pod in a manner to be described hereafter.

FIGS. 12 and 17 illustrate the kicker assembly which moves a driver gear117 of the pod closing assembly as shown in FIG. 19 a final angularmovement to snap the pod into its locked position. The kicker assemblycomprises a second cam 81 which supplies the final angular movement tothe driver gear and a fourth cam 82, the function of which will bedescribed later. Cams 81 and 82 are mounted on shaft 57.

A lever cam 83 is pivotally mounted on pin 61. One section 84 of pivotarm 83 has a roller 85 mounted therein which engages the cam surface ofcam 81. The outer end of section 84 has one end of a spring 86 connectedthereto. The other end of spring 86 is secured to a pin 87 on wall 56.Spring 86 constantly biases roller 85 against cam 81.

Arm 83 has a bifurcated section 88 with a pin 89 therethrough. One endof a lever arm 90 is pivotally connected to pin 89. The other end of arm90 is free and contains an offset 91 which engages abutment 122 ondriver gear 117.

An arm 92 has one end pivotally connected'on pivot pin 61 while theother end has a roller 93 thereon. Roller 93 bears against the camsurface of cam 82. An L-shaped arm 94 has one end connected to lever arm90 by screw means 94' while the other end bears against roller 93. Aspring 95 has one end connected to arm 90 while the other end thereof isconnected to a pin 96 on wall 56. Spring 95 causes arm 94 and roller 93to constantly bear against cam 82. f

Cam 82 causes arm 90 to stay in a substantially normal position whileabutment 122 moves into an almost engaging position with offset 91whereupon abutment 122 moves arm 90 away from the abutment untilabutting surface 123 has passed slightly beyond offset 91 and thenspring 95 allows it to be brought into engagement with the abuttingsurface. Cam 81 then causes arm 90 to snap the pod into its lockedposition; whereupon cam 82 kicks arm 90 outwardly so that offset 91 isdisengaged from abutment 122 to allow the closing assembly of FIG. 19 toreturn to its normal position.

FIGS. 12 and 18 illustrate the shearing assembly to shear the insulatingpods from the carrier strip. Cam 97 is mounted on shaft 57. Lever arm 98has one end pivotally connected on pivot pin 99 while the other end isfree and has a bolt 100 threadably mounted therein. A nut 101 isthreadably mounted on bolt 100 to lock same in an adjustable position. Aroller 102 is mounted on arm 98 and engages the cam surface of cam 97.

A ram 103 has the upper part thereof movably mounted in upper guidemeans 104 located on housing 55. The bottom part of ram 103 is movablymounted in a slot (not shown) in housing 55. Spring means 105 aredisposed between the bottom of the slot and the bottom of ram 103 sothat the top of the ram constantly biases roller 102 against cam 97.

A C-shaped member 106 is mounted on ram 103. A recess (not shown) isdisposed within ram 103 in alignment with the recess in member 106 sothat carrier strips 41 can move therein. A knife edge 107 is located onmember 106 and cuts piece 42 next to the pod when cam 97 actuates ram103 to free the pod from the carrier strip.

A plate 108 is mounted on ram 103 opposite member 106 and includes a pin109 projecting in a downward direction. Pin 109 engages one of holes 50in the carrier strip when ram 103 is actuated. Since cam 97 maintainsram 103 in a downward direction after shearing the pod from the carrierstrip during the closing operation of the pod, pin 109 in engagementwith a hole 50 in the carrier strip maintains the strip in alignment,prevents the strip from moving backward during the return movement ofthe pod feed mechanism and engages snap member 43 when receptacle 44 isin position under pin 109 thereby disconnecting the leading carrierstrip, which has all its pods removed, from the trailing carrier strip.

FIGS. 12 and 19 illustrate the pod closing assembly. Cam 110 is mountedon shaft 57. A lever arm 111 is pivotally mounted on pin 61 and has aroller 1 12 engaging the cam surface of cam 110. An arm 113 is securedto lever arm 111 and has teeth 114 at the free end thereof. Teeth 114mesh with a gearwheel 115 secured to shaft 116 mounted in wall 56.Spring means 113' has one end connected to arm 113 while the other endis secured to a pin 56' on wall 56. Spring means 1 13 maintains roller113 in engagement with the cam surface of cam 110. The foregoingelements are mounted to the rear of wall 56.

Another gearwheel 117 is mounted on shaft 116 and is in mesh with afurther gearwheel 118 which is mounted on plate 119 through theintermediary of bearing means 118' (see FIG. 22). Plate 119 is securedto wall 56 and contains an opening 120 in correspondence with a similaropening (not shown) in wall 56 through which the carrier strips and podsare fed.

Pod-engaging member 121 is disposed on gear wheel 118 and abutment 122having abutting surface 123 is disposed on gear wheel 117. As gear wheel118 is rotated by driver gear wheel 117, it engages section 2 of the podas shown in FIGS. 12-14 to move the pod to an almost closed position andthen abutting surface 123 is engaged by offset 91 of lever arm 90 asshown in FIG. 15 to move gearwheels 117 and 118 a final angularorientation thereby causing the pod to attain its locked position.

A plate 124 mounted on housing 55 extends downwardly within opening 120in alignment with groove 21 in section 1 of the pods. A pin 125 islocated at the bottom of plate 124 and rides in grooves 21 in order toassist in the alignment of the pods for reception of the electricalconnectors and to assist the sections of the pods to be moved abouttheir hinges into a closed and locked position.

If desired, an overtravel clutch may be disposed between gearwheels 115and 117 which prevents the normal closing of a misaligned pod at theclosing station.

Turning once again to FIG. 19, a driven shaft 126 is mounted in wall 56and has a pulley 127 secured thereon. A pulley 128 is secured on shaft57, and a belt 129 is disposed on pulleys 127 and 128. A belt tensionerarm 130 has one end pivotally mounted on a pin 131 while the other endis bifurcated and contains a roller 132 in engagement with the belt. Anarcuate slot 133 is disposed in arm 130 and has a threaded pin 134located on wall 56 extending therethrough. A nut (not shown) engagesthreaded pin 134 on the other side of arm 130 in order to secure thisarm in a desired belt-tensioning position. Driven shaft 126 is connectedto drive shaft 135 through a conventional coupling 136.

The reason that offset 65 is provided in lever arm 59 is that this armand arms 83 and 92 are commonly mounted on pivot pin 61 and section 60of arm 59 is positioned outwardly farther than the channel in whichtransfer arm 72 is disposed. Gearwheel 117 has a block 117' securedthereon. A screw 55' is disposed in the side of housing 55 in alignmentwith block 117' in its normal position (see FIG. 12). A locking nut 55"is mounted on screw 55. Block 117' engages screw 55 in its normalposition and screw 55' adjusts the angular disposition of gearwheel 17so that block 121 is maintained in proper position for feeding the podsthereon.

FIG. 20 illustrates the transmission system TS and part of thefeed-operating mechanism FOM located in a housing 137.

In the transmission system, drive shaft is connected to a Hilliardclutch 138. A locking arm 139 is pivotally mounted on pivot pin 140located in housing 137. One end of locking arm 139 is pivotallyconnected to a normally unoperated solenoid 141 while the other end isspring-biased into a clutch-locking position with the axially movablepart of the clutch by a spring 142 which is connected between housing137 and this end of arm 139.

Solenoid 141 is electrically connected to a cam-operated switch means(not shown) located within the inside of machine M and is operated by acam (not shown) located on the flywheel shaft. Such an arrangement isconventional and is clearly disclosed in US. Pat. No. 2,783,813. Thus,solenoid 141 is operated to unlock clutch 138 when the flywheel shaft isrotated thereby operating the cam-operated switch means via the cam. Inorder to operate the flywheel shaft, a conventional solenoid operatedclutch is utilized and this is disclosed in US. Pat. No. 3,046,636.

Since shaft 135 makes one revolution each time the machine is actuatedvia a foot-actuated switch (not shown but disclosed in US Pat. No.2,783,813) connected to the solenoid-operated clutch, a centering cam143 is located on shaft 135 and includes a depression 144 disposed inalignment with the locking position of clutch 138. An arm 145 has oneend pivotally connected to pin 140 while the other end is connected toone end of spring means 146. A roller 147 is mounted on arm 145. Theother end of spring means 146 is connected to housing 137 and causesroller 147 to bear against the cam surface of cam 143 and to maintainthe axially movable part of the clutch in a position for engagement whenroller 147 engages depression 144.

A pulley 148 is secured on shaft 135 and has a belt 149 disposed thereinwhich extends through openings in housing 137. Belt 149 is connected toa drive pulley (not shown) which is operatively connected to the drivemotor of the machine through another Hilliard clutch (not shown) actingas a safety feature whenever the clutch is overloaded.

A switch-operating cam 150 is secured on shaft 135 which operates aswitch means (not shown) electrically connected to the foot-actuatedswitch in series relationship to disconnect the latter switch in seriesrelationship to disconnect the latter switch as soon as shaft 135rotates in order to prevent the machine from being operated again untilit has completed a connecter crimping, transferring of the crimpedconnecter into a pod and closing and locking the pod onto the erimpedconnecter. A wheel 151 is mounted on shaft 135 exteriorly of housing 137in order to manually operate the transmission system.

A beveled gear 152 is secured on shaft 135 which meshes with anotherbeveled gear 153 secured on another driven shaft 154 of feed-operatingmechanism FOM. Shaft 154 has cams 155, 156, and 157 secured thereon.Lever arms 158 and 159 are pivotally mounted on projections 137 inhousing 137 and extend through an opening 168 in plate 167; rollers 160and 161 are respectively mounted thereon. Rollers 160 and 161 engagerespectively the cam surfaces of cams 155 and 157. Spring means 162 and163 have one end connected respectively to arms 158 and 159 while theother end is connected to a pin 164 in housing 137. These spring meansconstantly maintain rollers 160 and 161 in engagement with theirrespective cams. A feed finger 165 extends outwardly from lever arm 158and engages the pod feed mechanism as shown in FIG. 21. A feed finger166 extends outwardly from lever arm 159 and engages the connector feedmechanism as shown in FIG. 22.

Turning now to H0. 22 there is shown a block 169 secured on plate 167adjacent opening 168. An arm 170 has one end pivotally connected to apin 171 on block 169 and extends through opening 168. The other end ofarm 170 has a roller 172 mounted therein which engages the cam surfaceof cam 156. An L-shaped arm 173 has one end secured to arm 170 while theother end has a plate 174 secured thereto. Plate 174 projects outwardlyfrom the end of arm 173 and has one end of spring means 175 connectedthereto. The other end of spring means is secured to plate 167. Springmeans 175 causes roller 172 to constantly bear against cam 156. A bolt176 is threadably mounted in plate 174 and has a nut 177 thereon to lockbolt 176 in an adjustable position.

A housing 178 is mounted on feed table 179 and has a slot 180 disposedtherein. Feed table 179 also has a slot 181 therein. A block 182 ismovably mounted in housing 178 and has spaced pins 183 thereon extendingoutwardly through slot 180. Feed finger 165 is disposed between pins183. A lever 184 is pivotally mounted on block 182 by a slot 185. Arecess 186 is disposed in one end of lever 187 disposed therein. Theother end of spring means engages a sidewall (not shown) of housing 178.

A lever arm 188 is pivotally mounted on a pivot pin 189 in housing 178and has a narrow section in engagement with the free end of lever 184while the other end carries a pin 190. A pin 191 is movably disposed inblock 182 in alignment with the narrow section of lever arm 188 and bolt176. A plate 192 is secured on block 182 and has one end of a feed arm193 pivotally connected thereto. The other end of feed arm 193 has feedfingers 194 which extend through slot 181 in their feeding position toengage slots 49 in carrier strip 41 to feed the pods to the pod closingzone.

A projection 195 is located on feed arm 193 which extends through anopening 196 in plate 197 separating housing 178 into a first part inwhich feed arm 193 rides and a second part in which block 182 rides.Projection 195 includes a recess 198 in which pin is disposed andanother recess 199 which extends into block 182 in which spring means200 is disposed. Guide plates 201 are mounted on feed table 179 in whichcarrier strip 41 and the pods are guided.

Another feed arm (not shown) is also pivotally connected on block 182 ina similar manner as feed arm 193 and operates in the same manner. Thisfeed arm has feed fingers which extend through a slot parallel with slot181 and are displaced slightly rearwardly of feed fingers 194 and engagesection 1 of adjacent pods in order to prevent binding during the feedoperation.

FIG. 22 shows the pod feed assembly in position to be moved in arearward direction to feed another pod into closing position. Arm 184normally engages the side of the narrow section of lever arm 188; butwhen cam 156 moves pin 191 upwardly via bolt 176, spring means 187 moveslever 184 under this narrow section. This causes teeth 194 to be moveddownwardly out of engagement with strip 41 through the intermediary ofpin 190. Teeth 194 remain in a downward direction while plate 182 andfeed arm 193 are rearwardly moved by feed finger 165 through the actionof cam 155. After plate 182 and feed arm 193 have been moved close tothe feed position for teeth 194, lever 184 engages a stationary pin 202located on the other side of plate 182 in the sidewall of housing 178.Pin 202 causes lever 184 to pivot out from under the narrow section oflever arm 188. Spring means 200 then biases teeth 194 upwardly intoengagement with slots 49.

The feed assembly for the connecters is similar to that of the pod feedassembly except that the feed arm does not have operatively connectedthereto lever arms 184 and 188 in order to maintain the feed arm in adownward direction during the movement of the feed arm to a feedingposition. The feed arm in the connecter feed assembly is biaseddownwardly during its return movement to its feeding position by theline of connectors and the feed teeth having a rearwardly inclinedsurface, such as teeth 194 have. Thus, any further description of theconnecter feed assembly would be merely superfluous.

FIG. 23 shows an alternative embodiment of the connecter transferassembly. As can be discerned from FIG. 23, the contact portion 38' ofconnectors E faces the line of pod P. A hollow housing member 202 isrotatably mounted around a stationary cam surface (not shown) locatedwithin the housing member. An arm 203 is slidably mounted within a slotin the housing member and the inner end thereof bears against thestationary cam surface under the action of a spring means (not shown).In operation, the housing member reciprocates 180 between the positionof engaging a crimped connector and transferring it into a pod. Anothermanner in moving arm 203 into engagement with a crimped connecter wouldbe to provide a movable shaft within the housing member having a flangethereon against which the innner end of arm 203 engages under theinfluence of a spring means; a pin is located on the flange which uponrotation of the movable shaft and housing member opposite the crimpedconductor causes the arm to move outwardly with respect to the housingmember to engage the connector. Other embodiments are, of course,possible.

OPERATION An electrical lead is placed within the crimping ferrule of anelectrical connector located in the crimping zone of the machine. Thefoot-actuated switch or similar switch is actuated energizing thesolenoidoperated clutch which causes the flywheel shaft to turn therebymoving the movable crimping die CD toward the stationary die SD toeffect a shearing of the leading electrical connecter from the supplythereof and a crimping of the connecter onto the electrical lead.

After the crimping operation has been effected, the switch to beoperated by the flywheel shaft cam is operated which operates solenoid141 to allow Hilliard clutch 138 to operate. Drive shaft 135 is thenrotated to operate shaft 57 on which cams 58, 81, 82, 97, and 110 aredisposed. Also, cam 150 operates the switch engaged therewith todisconnect the footactuated switch in order to prevent any furtheroperation of the machine until each pod has been closed on a respectiveconnecter.

' The transfer assembly of FIG. 16 engages the crimped connecter andtransfers it into a pod P while the closing assembly of FIG. 19 beginsto close the pod as shown in FIG. 13 and the pod shearing assembly ofFIG. 18 shears the pod located at the pod closing zone from carrierstrip 41.

' The transfer assembly remains in position as shown in FIGS. 14 and 15during the closing and locking of the pod onto the crimped connecter inorder to hold section 1 of the pod down during these operations.

The pod-shearing assembly also remains in a downward position during theclosing and locking of the pod so that pin 109 engages a hole 50incarrier strip 41 to maintain it in alignment.

As the closing assembly continues to move the pod into a closedposition, abutting surface 123 of abutment 122 moves to a position forengagement with offset 91 of arm 90 and the abutment moves arm 90 out ofengagement as shown in FIG. 14 until abutting surface 123 is inalignment with offset 91, whereupon spring 95 moves offset 91 intoengagement with the offset as shown in FIG. 15 then, arm 90 causes theclosing assembly to lock the pod in a locked position as shown in FIG.15.

Cams 58, 81, 82, 97, and 110 are returned to their normal position byspring means 113 and the locked pod is ejected by means ofthe next podbeing positioned by pod fed fingers as set forth hereinbefore.

While there has been described a machine to effect crimping of anelectrical connector and the transfer thereof into an insulating pod, itis obvious that an already crimped connecter can be placed in the pod,closed and locked thereon thereby eliminating the crimping operation.However, it is preferable to use the same machine to perform bothoperations.

There has been disclosed a spring-biased member 54 to hold the terminaldown during the crimping operation, but such may be accomplished by apneumatically operated piston during the crimping operation.

As can be discerned, there has been disclosed a novel machine to effectthe encapsulation of an electrical connector.

It will, therefore, be appreciated that the aforementioned and otherdesirable objects have been achieved; however, it

would be emphasized that the particular embodim ents of the invention, wich are shown and described herein, are intended as merely illustrativeand not as restrictive of the invention.

The invention is claimed in accordance with the following:

1. In a machine for applying insulating pod members to electricalconnecters, crimping means on said machine, podclosing means on saidmachine, supply means to supply a continuous line of electricalconnecters and insulating pod members respectively to said crimpingmeans and said pod-closing means, power means on said machine to operatesaid crimping means and pod-closing means, feed means operativelyconnected to said power means to successively feed said electricalconnectors and pod members to the crimping means and podclosing means,and transfer means on said machine and operatively connected to saidpower means to engage a crimped electrical connecter and transfer itfrom the crimping means into an insulating pod member at the pod closingmeans which closes the pod member on the electrical connecter.

2. In a machine according to claim 1 wherein said feed means includesfeed arms respectively engaging said continuous lines of connectermembers and insulating pod members, and means to maintain one of saidfeed arms in a position out of engagement with respective members duringthe movements thereof to a feeding position.

3. In a machine according to claim 1 wherein said transfer meansincludes cam means on said machine defining a path from the crimpingmeans to the pod-closing means, and lever arm means in engagement withsaid cam means to be moved thereby along said path.

4. In a machine according to claim 1 wherein said transfer meansincludes rotary means, a reciprocating arm disposed on said rotarymeans, and means on said rotary means to move said reciprocating arminto engagement with the crimped electrical connecter at the crimpingmeans and then moving the engaged electrical connector in a rotary pathto the podclosing means.

UNTTET) STATES PATENT OFFICE Y CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION .Patent No. 5,6+1,6 +1 Dated February 15, 1972 Inventor(S) Willard LeRoy .Busler It iscertified that error appears in the" abcive-idehtified patent and thatsaid Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

Figures 11-23 ofthe drawings as shown on the f 'attached sheets shouldbe added Signed and sealed this .2bth day of May 1975.

(SEAL) Attest: I

C. MARSHALL DANN' RUTH C. MASON Commissioner of Patents AttestingOfficer and Trademarks F ORM PO-OSO (10-69) USCOMM-DC 60376-P69 u.s.GOVERNMENT rumrme OFFICE: 930

1. In a machine for applying insulating pod members to electricalconnecters, crimping means on said machine, podclosing means on saidmachine, supply means to supply a continuous line of electricalconnecters and insulating pod members respectively to said crimpingmeans and said pod-closing means, power means on said machine to operatesaid crimping means and pod-closing means, feed means operativelyconnected to said power means to successively feed said electricalconnectors and pod members to the crimping means and pod-closing means,and transfer means on said machine and operatively connected to saidpower means to engage a crimped electrical connecter and transfer itfrom the crimping means into an insulating pod member at the pod closingmeans which closes the pod member on the electrical connecter.
 2. In amachine according to clAim 1 wherein said feed means includes feed armsrespectively engaging said continuous lines of connecter members andinsulating pod members, and means to maintain one of said feed arms in aposition out of engagement with respective members during the movementsthereof to a feeding position.
 3. In a machine according to claim 1wherein said transfer means includes cam means on said machine defininga path from the crimping means to the pod-closing means, and lever armmeans in engagement with said cam means to be moved thereby along saidpath.
 4. In a machine according to claim 1 wherein said transfer meansincludes rotary means, a reciprocating arm disposed on said rotarymeans, and means on said rotary means to move said reciprocating arminto engagement with the crimped electrical connecter at the crimpingmeans and then moving the engaged electrical connector in a rotary pathto the pod-closing means.